Springfield Township York County
City Zoning Code
City Zoning Code
ARTICLE V
Transfer of Development Rights TDR
§ 500-84 Purpose.
The Township Comprehensive Plan Update has identified areas of the Township that, because of their unique natural resources, make them worthy of special protection. The purpose of this article is to assist in permanently protecting these vital natural resources, including farmlands, prime agricultural soils, water sheds, wetlands, woodlands, and steep slopes. In accordance with Sections 603(c)(2), 605(4), and 619.1 of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code,[1] a transfer of development rights program is established in the Township, and the Township designates the Conservation (C) and Agricultural (A) Districts as the sending area and the Residential Open Space (ROS), Residential (R), and Village Center (VC) Districts as the receiving areas. The purpose of the program is to preserve the unique natural resources and character of the land in the C and A Districts by shifting development from that area to the designated receiving areas of the Township. Furthermore, the Township intends to encourage flexibility, economy, and ingenuity in the development of parcels in the designated receiving areas. In accordance with the development policy of the Township, as set forth by the Township Comprehensive Plan Update, the regulations of this article are established in order to achieve the following:
A.
Purposes of TDR.
(1)
To encourage and support agricultural activity in the Township by providing to the owners of farms and other parcels of land in the C and A Districts with a means by which they can benefit from the development value of their land without the sale of land;
(2)
To establish that, within the C and A Districts, the right to develop property shall be severable from that property and attached to another property in an ROS, R, or VC District;
(3)
To establish a process for the transfer of development rights; and
(4)
To provide guidelines for the application of development rights to assure that the resulting development is in conformance with the policies expressed by the Township Comprehensive Plan Update and is appropriate to the setting and character of the Township.
B.
To further the goal of § 500-84A(2), above, the Township shall establish the TDR Bank to receive or purchase TDRs for resale. All monies to be received upon sale, to be held in a segregated bank account to be used only for the purchase of TDRs from owners of property in sending areas which do not wish to subdivide, to sell, to realize land value of a development right and/or to be used for any purpose that furthers agricultural and conservation purposes of such lands.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. §§ 10603(c)(2), 10605(4), and 10619.1.
§ 500-85 Concept.
A.
The transfer of development rights is a voluntary agreement under the terms of this chapter between a willing buyer and a willing seller. The rights shall only be transferred to a person, corporation, partnership, or other legal entity. The development rights may be held by the purchaser for future use or sale; however, the only use which may be made of the development rights is the ultimate transfer to a developer with a parcel in the designated receiving areas of the Township, except as provided for in § 500-10E(6)(b) of this chapter. The price of the development rights will be determined by the willing buyer and the willing seller.
B.
The development rights shall be considered a separate estate in land and may only be transferred in accordance with the requirements of this article, except as provided for in § 500-10E(6)(b) of this chapter. Once the development rights are attached to a specific parcel of land, the rights shall run with that specific parcel in perpetuity.
C.
A purchaser of development rights who attaches those rights to a parcel of land in accordance with the procedures set forth in this article is permitted an increase, with the use of the development rights, in the residential density of his development within the receiving area. The seller of the development rights receives compensation from the sale, plus the right to retain the land for agricultural use or other use permitted in the district in which located.
D.
A deed restriction against future residential development is placed upon the parcel in the designated sending area from which the development rights have been severed. The deed restriction will not affect the landowner's ability to sell the land after the development rights have been severed; however, such restriction will run with the land.
E.
The Township shall maintain a registry of TDRs held for sale by Township residents. The Township shall make this list available to any party seeking to purchase TDRs. Participation in the Springfield Township TDR registry shall be voluntary, and the price of such a TDR shall be in the sole discretion of the owner of such registered TDR.
F.
During January of every year, the Township shall secure an appraisal of the value of a TDR in Springfield Township for use from January 1 to December 31 of that year. The appraiser shall address and consider the increase of density as to each district a TDR may be used and provide a separate value per district of proposed use if the same affects price. If no district of use is delineated, the price shall be that of the average value in the district of use.
§ 500-86 Recognition of transfer of development rights.
A.
The Township hereby recognizes the severability of development rights from certain parcels within the Township, and that such rights may be sold, or donated, as an interest in real estate. Ownership of the development rights shall be determined by deed, as further described in § 500-89, Transfer and use of development rights, once purchased, may be applied to a parcel in the designated receiving areas, may be held for investment or other purposes, may be donated by the purchaser, or may be resold by the purchaser. The initial transfer of the development rights shall be solely at the volition of the owner of the parcel in the designated sending area, and the purchase of the development rights shall be solely at the volition of the buyer. Under no circumstances shall the Township compel the transfer of development rights in order to develop land in the receiving area.
B.
The Township reserves the right to amend this article in the future. The Township further expressly reserves the right to terminate its transfer of development rights program at any time. No owner of land or owner of development rights shall have any claim against the Township for damages resulting from a change in this article relating to the regulations governing the apportionment, transfer, and use of development rights or the abolition of the transfer of development rights program. If the transfer of development rights program is abolished by the Township, no developer may attach development rights to any parcel of land in the receiving area after the effective date of the ordinance abolishing the transfer of development rights program, unless an application in conformity with the provisions of § 500-89 herein was filed prior to the effective date of such ordinance.
§ 500-87 Designation of sending areas and receiving areas.
A.
Sending areas. For purposes of the transfer of development rights, the C and A Districts of the Township shall be designated as sending areas. Any property that is subject to a conservation easement where the right to develop has been relinquished, the owner's right to transfer development rights is limited to those development rights retained by the owner in the conservation easement.
B.
Receiving areas. For purposes of the transfer of development rights, the ROS, R, and VC Districts of the Township shall be designated as receiving areas.
§ 500-88 Apportionment, determination of development rights, and severability.
A.
Apportionment. The development rights apportioned to each parcel of land within the designated sending areas of the Township shall be as follows:
(1)
The number of single-family detached dwellings, as prescribed by § 500-9E(1) or 500-10E(1) of this chapter, whichever is applicable, remaining to be developed on January 27, 1996.
(2)
Parcels of land in the C and A Districts restricted against development by covenant, easement, or deed restriction shall not be eligible for transfer of development rights, unless and until such time as said covenant, easement, or deed restriction is dissolved or rescinded except if the development's rights are transferred by donation to the Springfield Township TDR bank for the purposes set out in § 500-84B. In the event the landowner/transferor under the preceding exception has a covenant, restriction and/or easement that created an ineligibility to transfer, dissolved or rescinded, any future development rights accompanying such tract of land, under any and all circumstances, including rezoning, shall be reduced by the number of TDRs donated and transferred to the Springfield Township TDR bank.
(3)
The owner of any parcel of land eligible for development rights in the C or A Districts shall not be restricted from developing said parcel in accordance with the provisions of § 500-9 or 500-10 of this chapter, whichever is applicable. In the event of a residential subdivision or land development of any such parcel eligible for development rights, the number of development rights apportioned by Subsection A(1) above shall be reduced by the number of residential lots and/or dwelling units subdivided or developed.
B.
Severability.
(1)
Prior to any severance or formal transfer of development rights, the owner of a parcel of land in the sending area must submit a plan to the Board of Supervisors. The plan shall be drawn to scale and shall show and/or note the following:
(a)
A complete boundary of the sending area parcel, as it existed on June 30, 1992, for parcels in the C District and as it existed on February 5, 1977, for parcels in the A District, from which the rights will be transferred and a survey or deed description thereof.
(b)
The location of any lots that have been subdivided from the parcel since the respective dates noted above and the use of such lots.
(c)
The name of the owner of record of the parcel.
(d)
The total acreage of the parcel.
(e)
Land restricted against development by covenant, easement, right-of-way, or deed restriction, including a description thereof.
(f)
A statement to the effect that "It is the determination of the Board of Supervisors of Springfield Township, York County, Pennsylvania, that (number) development rights may be transferred by sale or donation from the property shown on this plan as of (date)."
(g)
If the proposed agreement of sale of development rights would entail less than the entire number of development rights available to the subject parcel, the plan shall also include a notation of the number of development rights applicable to the entire parcel, the number of development rights to be transferred, and the number of development rights that remain with the parcel.
(2)
The accuracy of the plan and the number of development rights available for transfer (to be inserted in the statement appearing on the plan) shall be determined by the Board of Supervisors as advised by the Township Zoning Officer, Planning Commission, and/or Engineer. Following the transfer, the sending area parcel must either contain an existing dwelling unit or have allocated to it the right to construct at least one dwelling unit, unless it is being permanently joined to an adjacent parcel which either contains an existing dwelling or has allocated to it the right to construct at least one dwelling. The Board of Supervisors shall approve the creation of the transfer of development rights during a public meeting.
§ 500-89 Transfer and use of development rights.
A.
Transfer of development rights.
(1)
Deed of transfer of development rights.
(a)
Development rights which have been approved by the Board of Supervisors shall be formally transferred by means of a deed of transfer of development rights duly recorded in the office of the York County Recorder of Deeds. The deed shall specify the parcel of land within the receiving area to which the rights shall be permanently attached or that the rights shall be transferred to a person, corporation, partnership, or other legal entity. The entity transferring the development rights may sell or donate any number of development rights up to the number identified in § 500-88A of this chapter; fractional development rights shall not be transferred.
(b)
All deeds of transfer of development rights shall be endorsed for approval by the Board of Supervisors prior to recording. No deed of transfer of development rights shall be so endorsed until the Township is presented with evidence that the declaration of restriction of development has been approved by the Township and has been recorded in the office of the York County Recorder of Deeds. In lieu of presentation of the recording of said declaration, the fully executed declaration may be presented to the Township when the deed of transfer of development rights is presented for endorsement, and the Township, at the applicant's expense, shall simultaneously record both documents.
(c)
If the development rights shall be immediately attached to a parcel in the receiving area, no deed of transfer of development rights shall be recorded before preliminary plan approval of the development utilizing the development rights has been obtained.
(2)
Declaration of restriction of development.
(a)
A declaration of restriction of development shall be executed simultaneously with the deed of transfer of development rights. Such declaration shall be attached as a deed restriction to the sending parcel and shall serve to restrict subsequent residential development of that parcel to the remaining number of development rights available for transfer either in perpetuity or until the owner of the parcel shall donate or sell some or all of the remaining development rights, if any. Such declaration shall clearly state the number of development rights available for transfer that remain with the parcel.
(b)
The declaration of restriction of development shall be in a form approved by the Township Solicitor. All owners of the parcel from which development rights are severed shall execute the declaration of restriction of development and all lienholders of said parcel shall execute a joinder and/or consent to the declaration of restriction of development. The declaration shall be recorded in the office of the York County Recorder of Deeds by the Township, at the applicant's expense. Said recording shall occur at the same time as, or prior to, the recording of the deed of transfer of development rights.
(3)
Parcels from which development rights have been severed shall be restricted against residential development; shall continue to be owned subject to said restrictions by the landowner, his heirs, executors, administrators, successors and assigns; and may continue to be used for agricultural and other nonresidential uses specified in the list of permitted uses for the district in which located and in accordance with the requirements of the district in which located.
B.
Use of development rights.
(1)
Development rights shall be transferred and subsequently utilized only upon parcels of land located within the areas identified as receiving areas in this article, except as provided for in § 500-10E(6)(b) of this chapter.
(2)
In the receiving area, development utilizing transferred development rights shall be permitted to be developed in accordance with the increased density provisions listed below:
Receiving Area | Maximum Development Capacity (DUs per gross acre) |
|---|---|
Residential Open Space District | 1.2 |
Residential District | 3.0 |
Village Center District | 3.0 |
(3)
Development utilizing transferred development rights shall be serviced by either a public water supply system or an unregulated water supply system and a central sanitary sewer system and shall be designed in conformity with the regulations of the zoning district within which that particular receiving parcel is located.
(4)
For each three additional dwelling units or portion thereof in excess of the number permitted by the base density of the ROS, R, or VC Districts, whichever is applicable, the developer shall acquire one development right in accordance with the provisions of this article. The only exception to the above provision is in the case of a Cluster Residential Development in the VC District in which at least 30% of the dwelling units consist of single-family attached and/or multifamily dwellings. In this particular case, for each three additional dwelling units, or portion thereof, proposed in excess of the number of dwelling units permitted by the gross density of 2 1/2 dwelling units per acre, the developer shall acquire one development right in accordance with the provisions of this article.
(5)
For each additional 4,000 square feet of floor area in excess of the maximum base floor area permitted in a Village Residential Development in the ROS District for commercial and office uses, the developer shall acquire one development right in accordance with the provisions of this article. However, the maximum increase of square footage via TDRs is limited to 1/3 of the square footage allowed without TDRs.
(6)
Each development right purchased shall equate to either dwelling units or commercial/office use floor area in accordance with the above provisions; it cannot be applied to a combination of dwelling units and commercial/office use floor area.
(7)
Procedure. The procedure for utilization of development rights transferred from the sending area upon an eligible property in the receiving area shall be as follows:
(a)
Preliminary subdivision/land development plan. A request to utilize the transferred development rights shall be in the form of a preliminary subdivision or land development plan of the proposed development utilizing the transferred development rights in accordance with the requirements of Chapter 425, Subdivision and Land Development, and the following additional requirements:
[1]
The preliminary plan submitted must indicate the residential base density of the receiving parcel, the proposed density on the receiving parcel, and the number of development rights transferred (or to be transferred) to the receiving parcel. In the case of a Village Residential Development in the ROS District which proposes to use transferred development rights for commercial and/or office purposes, the plan must indicate the commercial/office base density, the proposed commercial/office density on the receiving parcel, and the number of development rights transferred to the receiving parcel.
[2]
An application for apportionment and transfer of development rights on a form provided by the Township must accompany the plan. Such application shall be signed by both the transferor and the transferee. If the development rights which shall be used by the developer have previously been apportioned and severed from the sending parcel, a copy of the deed of transfer of development rights which has been recorded in the office of the York County Recorder of Deeds, indicating the number of development rights available, and a title search demonstrating that such development rights are still held by such person and setting forth all liens placed against them shall be included.
[3]
An agreement of sale for the development rights between the owner of the parcel from which development rights have been requested, or the owner of development rights which have been previously severed from a parcel in the sending area as evidenced by a recorded deed of transfer of development rights, and the owner of the parcel in the receiving area proposed to be developed utilizing the transferred development rights must accompany the plan. The agreement may be contingent upon conditional approval of a final subdivision or land development plan for residential, cluster residential, or Village Residential Development of the parcel to which the development rights are to be transferred.
[4]
A copy of the proposed deed of transfer of development rights and declaration of restriction of development must accompany the plan.
[5]
A title search of the parcel from which the development rights will be transferred, sufficient to determine all owners of the parcel and all lienholders, must be provided. If the development rights have previously been severed from the parcel in the sending area, a title search of the rights set forth in the deed of transfer of development rights, sufficient to determine all of the owners of the development rights and all lienholders, shall be furnished to the Township.
[6]
If a proposed residential, cluster residential, or Village Residential Development utilizing transfer of development rights is to occur in phases and is clearly designated as such on the preliminary plan, the requirements specified in Subsection B(7)(a)[2] through [5] shall only be required for the initial or first phase of the development, provided that the requirements set forth below are satisfied. For subsequent phases, the requirements of Subsection B(7)(a)[2] through [5] shall occur in conjunction with the final subdivision/land development plan.
[a]
The number of transferred development rights to be utilized in each phase must be in direct proportion to the percentage of the total number of non-TDR units to be utilized in the same phase. For example, a total of 80 non-TDR units and 20 TDR units are proposed on a parcel. If 20 of the non-TDR units are proposed in Phase I, which amounts to 25% of the total number of proposed non-TDR units, then 25% of the total number of proposed TDR units must also be included in Phase I. Using this example, five TDR units would have to be included in Phase I.
[b]
If the number of transferred development rights proposed in a subsequent phase cannot be obtained and the developer wishes to proceed with the proposed development, then the preliminary plan must be revised and reapproved by the Township prior to submission of a final plan. If no transfer of development rights are to be utilized in a subsequent phase or phases, the remaining development must be in accordance with the nontransfer of development rights provisions set forth in this chapter.
(b)
Final subdivision/land development plan:
[1]
No final plan for any subdivision or land development which utilizes the transfer of development rights shall be executed on behalf of the Township until the Township has been presented with a copy of the recorded deed of transfer of development rights and the recorded declaration of restriction of development with the customary recording information of the office of York County Recorder of Deeds clearly endorsed thereon. In lieu of presentation of proof of recording the declaration of restriction of development and the deed of transfer of development rights, the fully executed declaration of restriction of development may be presented to the Township with the deed of transfer of development rights for endorsement, and the Township, at the applicant's expense, shall record both documents and then shall execute and, if the applicant so desires, at applicant's own expense, shall record the final plan.
[2]
Upon approval of the final plan of a project utilizing transferred development rights, a new deed shall be created and recorded for the receiving parcel. Such deed shall identify the deed(s) of transfer of development rights being used by deed book volume(s) and number(s) and shall state that the transferred development rights are attached to the receiving property in perpetuity.